The Coaching Relationship- Surround yourself with QUALITY

“The only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary.”  

-Vince Lombardi

The success of a Coach comes not just from their own knowledge, teaching or leadership skills, but also those of the people that surround them in the program and the way in which the complementary skills of all those involved can be harnessed to pull in one direction. Success does not come easy in sport, business or life. Whether the aim of the program you work in is winning games, developing players or a combination of the two, a clear, coherent and collaborative approach from those that drive the program is essential.

 

In any coaching team, it is clear that there must be one person who is ultimately accountable for the outcomes achieved by the team. However, in many cases, this leads to coaches trying to take on too much responsibility for EVERY aspect of the process that they believe leads to success.

 

 

"My model for business is The Beatles.

They balanced each other and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. 

That’s how I see business: great things in business are never done by one person, they’re done by a team of people." –Steve Jobs

 

The key is to surround oneself with people that challenge your ideas and push you towards excellence, but do so in a way that does not challenge your authority or status with the playing group. Disagreements over team direction may occur. They must occur away from the playing group. Differing opinions should be dealt with in an honest and open manner with a clear outcome reached and agreed upon.

 

Mutual respect is key. If you do not trust someone within the coaching group enough to carry out their tasks competently and independently when required, they are not the right person for the role.

 

 

Just as developing a culture of excellence and collective accountability for the success of the team amongst the playing group is essential, so too is ensuring that the coaching group (and any support staff) are also firmly committed to the philosophy of the Head Coach. In many respects, it makes sense for Coaches to surround themselves with people that boast a primary skill set that differ but their general approach and philosophy to the game are consistent.

 

Within the coaching landscape, it is extremely rare to find someone who is an expert in terms of all the key aspects of high performance; knowledge, teaching and management. Look at former school teacher Paul Clement working as Carlo Ancellotti’s assistant at Real Madrid, for an example of the manner in which Coaches from different backgrounds can operate in a symbiotic relationship.

 

 

 

Jurgen Klopp says this of Assistant Coach Zeljko Buvac:

"Assistant coach is not the right word," he says. "He is my partner, my friend … my genius-partner. We speak about football for the last 15 years each day … every day … [sometimes] do totally different things. I want to bring this player, he wants the other – everything is OK."

 

Most will know of top level coaches who have made it to the top of the sport with modestor non-playing backgrounds Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Chris Coleman, Andre-Villas Boas, Brendan Rodgers, Carlos Perreira, Arrigo Sacchi, Avram Grant, Brian Kerr are all examples of people reaching the heights of the professional game.  What this shows, is that at ANY level of the game, it is not just initial or intuitive football knowledge, but a willingness to study, learn, improve, work hard and communicate their knowledge that breeds success.

 

“A common mistake among thos who work in sport is spending a disproportional amount of time on the x’s and o’s as compared to time spent learning about people”

- Mike Krzyzewski

 

Being a former player is no guarantee of being a great coach if you do not have the ability to teach and manage. Conversely, being a great teacher or manager will not make you a great coach if you lack football knowledge. Surely then, to provide great coaching, it makes sense for people from different backgrounds to work together to form a coaching relationship that allows them to contribute in their own area of expertise while up-skilling on those areas that are not of the same standard.

 

Being surrounded with those that simply mirror or re-enforce your own skills, or those that lack the ability to add to the success of the team in their own way is of no purpose. A ‘Yes-man’ will be great when things are going well- not nearly so great when times get tough. It is essential to identify gaps in one’s own abilities and to endeavour to work alongside those that will challenge your beliefs and complement your own skill-set while sharing your desire to drive the team forward.